24" Steel Spoon

Product Description

The biggest mistake a brewer can make is to spend time and money making a quality beer wort or wine must but fail to take the time to clean and sanitize their equipment. All kinds of surprises await the brewer who uses unclean equipment- bacterial infections, wild yeast ferments, gushing bottles, a plethora of off-flavors and aromas... The first step to consistent and predictable results is employing sanitary procedures.

First, it's important to understand that cleaning and sanitizing are two separate procedures, neither one difficult. Cleaning is the act of removing physical particulate matter from something, such as your fermenter. If you have, for example, dried yeast stuck on the sides of your fermenter after doing a ferment, use an appropriate cleaner such as Oxygen Brewery Wash, PBW, or OneStep to help break up the particulates and scrub the surface with a non-abrasive scrubber, brush, or towel. Dish soap is not recommended as soap residue can produce off-flavors and aromas in your product.

Used bottles often benefit from a cleaning as there may be dried yeast sediment or other material in the bottom. The best way to reduce your time and energy cleaning is to clean as soon as possible; rinse bottles out well immediately after emptying them and don't let dirty fermenters sit for long without cleaning. Once particulates dry, they are much harder to remove from surfaces.

Once your equipment is clean, you must sanitize it before subjecting your beer, wine, or other beverage to it. Sanitizing is killing 99.99% of all microorganisms on a surface. To do this, use a food-grade sanitizer such as IoStar or StarSan; bleach is not recommended as it is not food grade, may be difficult to remove from plastics, and trace amounts can produce off-flavors and aromas. Merely mix sanitizers to the recommended concentrations and make sure that the sanitizing solution thoroughly contacts all surfaces of any equipment that will come in contact with your beer or wine. This includes fermenters, airlocks, siphoning equipment, bottles, etc.

Sanitizing procedures should be done just prior to use. Sanitizing a week, day, or even hours prior to using the equipment does no good as it may become recontaminated by airborne yeasts and bacterias in that time period.

If this sounds complicated or like a lot of work, it really isn't. It is, however, absolutely necessary and should never be dismissed. Happy brewing!

Amylase Enzyme (1 oz.)

Apple Cider Kit

$ 38.50

A traditional hard sparkling cider that is packed full of flavor. This apple cider is crisp, light and refreshing, a perfect choice any time of the year.
ABV: 5.2
Color: Golden
Apple Cider Instructions

Beer Wine Refractometer with ATC

$ 25.14

Refractometers measure sugar in an aqueous solution. Because they require such a small sample, they are a great alternative to hydrometers, which require several ounces of liquid and a test tube. This refractometer features Automatic Temperature Correction and both Brix and Specific Gravity scales. These are great for measuring the sugar content...

BIAB 24" X 26"

$ 8.75

24" X 26" nylon bag that works well for doing brew in a bag (BIAB) batches. Just place the bag in the kettle with your pre-heated brewing water, add crushed grains, and mash on!
Can also be used for straining must in winemaking. Tested at 50lb burst strength.
Reusable- just clean well after each use! We also stock a BIAB with handles for enhance...